[Sca-cooks] Pannetoni

[Terry Decker]

Panettone is a fairly light, filled and enriched bread.  I have recipes that 
will turn out a nice fruit bread, similar to stollen, or, using a mold, 
produce something more cake-like.  It lacks the heavy strong spicing of 
panforte.  Panettone is lighter than the bread-like panforte I produced and 
floats compared to the Siennese hockey puck.

I've never seen the recipe from Scappi and according to a post from Helewyse 
from 2010, it appears to be non-existent.

"I don't think that the question De posted ever got answered properly.
There is no recipe in Scappi for Panettone, either by that name or any 
other.
There are a few interesting yeast recipes.  Including one which looks a heck 
of
a lot like a recipe for a croissant dough.

(Recipe 132 5th book  - yeasted dough, folded with butter multiple times) 
but
nothing like a Panettone.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.
Helewyse"

It's a real stretch to get from Roman honey cakes, which are mostly 
unleavened, to panettone.

I've done panettone for a friend who wanted it for a feast.  And I just 
finished running up 16 loaves of Dresden stollen (referenced in the 14th 
Century, but without recipes) in Gwen Cat's kitchen.

Bear




----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Stefan li Rous" <StefanliRous at austin.rr.com>
<clipped>
Did you make your pannetoni from scratch? Looking it up in Wikipedia, I see:
"It has a cupola shape, which extends from a cylindrical base and is usually 
about 12–15 cm high for a panettone weighing 1 kg"

That's a heavy, dense bread!

"It is made during a long process that involves the curing of the dough, 
which is acidic, similar to sourdough. The proofing process alone takes 
several days, giving the cake its distinctive fluffy characteristics. "

How can it not be dense? It looks like whole wheat or similar grain. I 
thought at first it sounded complicated, but perhaps not.

"It contains candied orange, citron, and lemon zest, as well as raisins, 
which are added dry and not soaked. Many other variations are available such 
as plain or with chocolate. It is served in slices, vertically cut, 
accompanied with sweet hot beverages or a sweet wine, such as Asti or 
Moscato d'Asti."

Other than the chocolate, it looks like it could be period or at least it 
seems very similar to some period sweet/fruit breads.

I like the idea of eating it with hot beverages or a sweet wine.

I have the second half of our family holiday gatherings in a week or so. My 
brother's family spends Christmas with his in-laws, so this is when we get 
together. I'm thinking this might be a nice thing to make. Of course, it's 
my in-laws that are more into the wine.

Is "pannetoni" similar to panforte?

panforte-msg (32K) 2/11/12 A medieval Italian, sweetened, spiced dessert
bread similar to fruitcake or Lebkuchen.
http://www.florilegium.org/files/FOOD-SWEETS/panforte-msg.html

Wikipedia goes no to say "The origins of this cake appear to be ancient, 
dating back to the Roman Empire, when ancient Romans sweetened a type of 
leavened cake with honey. Throughout the ages this "tall, leavened 
fruitcake" makes cameo appearances in the arts: It is shown in a 
sixteenth-century painting by Pieter Brueghel the Elder and is possibly 
mentioned in a contemporary recipe book written by Bartolomeo Scappi,"

I think that's a pretty far jump to make, unless there is some more info not 
given, from Roman bread sweetened with honey to a leavened fruitcake!

Anybody have a redacted version of Scappi's pannetoni?

Thanks,
  Stefan